Review of "Calendar Girls," DVD version

 Review of

Calendar Girls, DVD version

Five out of five stars

Great human interest story

 This movie is based on a true story. There is a close knit group of women in the British village of Knapely. They belong to the local chapter of the Women’s Institute and tragedy strikes when one of the women’s husband comes down with Leukemia and dies. After discovering that the couch in the waiting room is very uncomfortable and seeing a girlie calendar, one of the women comes up with an idea for fundraising.

 Her idea is to create a girlie calendar featuring women of the Women’s Institute nude and engaging in typical activities of women in the club. Props would be situated so that the important parts would be hidden from the camera. After some initial skepticism, enough women agree to pose so that they can make a calendar. The project is a great success, and it raises hundreds of thousands of pounds for leukemia research.

 This movie is very well cast and acted. All of the women act their parts very well, showing the proper level of embarrassment and courage as they bond over their shared nude experiences. The women that play the essential bit parts also provide the proper backdrop of prudery followed by pride in what the women accomplished. The men in their lives are sometimes supportive and other times outlandish jerks.

 While the action is occasionally a bit slow, it is often quite funny with subtle humor. Succored by wine and other alcoholic beverages, the women manage to achieve a high level of success in a most unusual way.

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